Final answer:
COBIT provides an IT governance framework that helps ensure IT is aligned with business needs, delivers value, manages risks, and meets compliance requirements. It offers a structured approach to decision-making and IT process management.
Step-by-step explanation:
COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and related Technology) supports IT governance by providing a comprehensive framework intended to assist organizations in achieving their objectives for the governance and management of enterprise IT. This framework does so by ensuring that IT is aligned with business needs, delivering value through IT services and investments, and managing IT-related risks appropriately.
COBIT acts as a guide that encompasses principles, practices, analytical tools, and models that decision-makers can use to bridge the gap between control requirements, technical issues, and business risks. It offers a set of controls over information technology and organizes them around a set of IT governance areas such as Align, Plan and Organize; Build, Acquire, and Implement; Deliver, Service, and Support; and Monitor, Evaluate, and Assess.
The framework assists in meeting compliance with relevant laws, regulations, contractual agreements, and policies. By providing the structure for decision making and processes that ensure that IT is working effectively, COBIT helps organizations maximize the benefits derived from IT, while at the same time maximizing its security and minimizing risks associated with IT processes.